Tell me about UChicago?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>I am applying to the University of Chicago early action. Sadly, I live in the deep south and I can't afford to come visit. :( So I was wondering if people could give me more information about what its really like at University of Chicago? I've found out as much as I can online, and I love the sound of it, but nothing can replace actually going and touring a school. I want to know as much as I can when filling out the Why Chicago? part of the application. I'd like to learn about what makes this school so unique. </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Thanks for asking, I’m in the same position (New Mexican here), and I want to visit so badly!</p>

3

<p>mermaidgirl: We are from the South, son is a first year, probably too busy to respond so I’ll give you some thoughts. These thoughts are somewhat random and in bullet form. I’ll try to remember as much as I can. I hope others will join in.</p>

<p>SETTING
–Beautiful campus; old, Gothic parts and newer buildings on the perimeter. Magical old quads and new quads developing. Actual beauty is greater than the pictures.
–Hyde Park enclave. South part of Chicago, but a hidden secluded gem of an area. Just a block or two South or West gets you into some high crime areas, but UChicago itself is really safe.
–Everything well maintained; a sense that the University tries to make the visual experience special and the stay at the University comfortable.
–Building. Lots of building. New North Dorm (somewhat controversial; check out threads on the topic though I am a fan), new Eckardt Center for molecular engineering, new Becker-Friedman center, new Logan Arts Center, new pedestrian walkways.
–Getting there: reasonable to drive from as far South as Atlanta or Birmingham, but maybe impractical after that. Do not bring a car and keep it. Absolutely not. Fly into Midway Airport, most likely.
–Lake Michigan is a few blocks to the East. Lakeshore drive is really nice.</p>

<p>STUDENTS
–Interested in things. They listen to you when you talk. Maybe they are evaluating what you say, but they are universally polite.
–A sense that every single one of them is really, really smart and that they can do many things well.
–Diverse, especially in terms of Geography, but also in terms of race, religion, sex.
–Intellectual. The hype is true. They all seem to be interested in books, music, science, etc. Truly interested and deriving pleasure from it.
–Spirited but not in the sense that they identify with the University football team. (Although the school does have varsity sports, DIII).</p>

<p>DORMS
–Nice, spread out. Kids seem to like the house structure. All well maintained. Until the new North dorm opens, a little filled up. Opened up International House to undergraduates. Great building, but a little walk to class. Still very safe.
–Food is fair to middling.</p>

<p>ADMINISTRATION
–President Zimmer: good leader, brilliant, confident, competent
–Provost Rosenbaum: brilliant academic. Curriculum visionary. Unfortunately leaving to be president of Caltech at the end of the school year.
–Dean Boyer: Born to be dean of the college. Intellectual to the core. Great example for the kids and exudes love of the college.
–Others: Trying to follow the lead of these three.
–Note: Some controversy recently about a couple of decisions which demonstrated to some that the administration is aloof.</p>

<p>ACADEMICS [based on son’s first 5 weeks]
–Figured out in the sense that they have well established principles, including the core, and in the sense that they know how to advise kids and schedule classes.
–Willing to help. Willing to put their money where their mouths are to provide tutoring resources.
–Hard. But mostly stimulating to the high achieving students who go to the school. Did I mention that it’s pretty hard?
–Lots of diverse educational paths to take. Lots of help to figure it out.<br>
–Serious about learning.</p>

4

<p>U Chicago is a very hard school to get into in Chicago. I know someone who went to have an interview there and it lasted two hours. Maybe that helps to tell you something about the school. Some more things about the school is the students are very smart and there is a lot of reading that has to be done by the students.</p>

5

<p>Thank you so much everyone! And thank you kaukauna for that response, it really said a lot to me. At UChicago is there a big focus on the Core curriculum, or is it more focused on the classes the student chooses?</p>

6

<p>I’m sending you and EnoughNerve a pm. I wrote something that is quite lengthy to someone in a similar boat a bit ago that might prove helpful.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Clear and thorough post kaukauna! Thanks.</p>

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<p>mermaidgirl: About the core. Current students or recent graduates could answer this better than I can, but i get the sense that it it does not overwhelm course selection and ultimate educational objectives of the students. Also, there is quite a bit of flexibility within the core requirements. One of the good parts about UChicago’s long history with core requirements is that the courses are well thought out, and I get the feeling that core classes are meaningful and not just something to get past. I suppose the bad part is that the core classes do take up class slots over the 12 quarters, and for those who have their educational goals completely thought through, that could be a minus.</p>

9

<p>My kid #1 really loved the idea of the Core; her top college choices were Columbia and Chicago for that reason. By the middle of her first year, she hated the Core – thought it was too much like high school, over-broad, with lots of people in each class who really didn’t want to be there. She envied people who got to take only classes they wanted to take. She was really critical of the lack of academic rigor in the special Core science courses. By the time she finished college, however, and certainly in the years since, she has really appreciated how the Core gave everyone at Chicago common frames of reference, standards for judgment, and vocabulary, something that makes it much easier to have meaningful discussions with people you don’t know well.</p>

<p>My kid #2 went to Chicago thinking the Core was at best a necessary evil, an annoying thing to get through in order to enjoy what he loved about Chicago. He fell in love with his Hum course and its teacher, and his writing fellow, and thinks it was one of the best academic experiences of his life. He had more problems with his Sosc course, except (a) the second quarter of it completely changed his academic focus and life plans, and (b) six years later, he is romantically involved with one of his section-mates. He also completely loved his Arts and Civ Core courses, and liked the Bio topics courses so much he took one after he had already satisfied the Core Bio requirement.</p>

<p>As they say, your mileage may vary . . . .</p>

10

<p>If you are from a warm area you may feel the climate quite different from what you are used to. The city of Chicago is beautiful and magnificent, but cold and windy sometimes (or many times). Last April I was visiting there it felt quite cold with wind. But in September it felt warm and sunny.</p>

<p>The UChicago setting is a bit misleading. It is called urban but it should be called suburban, sort of. It is not busy at all. It is definitely not like Columbia or Princeton. The Hyde park neighborhood offers some drug stores, restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters, office supplies, etc. But if you need more you need to go to the city.</p>

<p>The transportation system of Chicago is quite convenient and handy IMO. You can take metra railroad from UChicago/59th St. to downtown (loop) in about 20 minutes - though that station is not in the best condition at all. I often wonder why it has not been fixed. The CTA No. 6 bus goes to downtown too. Those train and bus run on the east side of the UChicago campus while there are other trains and buses running on the west side of campus.</p>

11

<p>Awesome, thank you both so much:) Do you think I have any advantage coming from a southern state?</p>

12

<p>If not a lot of people apply from your state, it probably is a leg up :)</p>

13

<p>S1 loved the core. Took a full year of Greek Thought and Literature. The education he received at Chicago still astounds me. He too is romantically involved with a wonderful young woman he met at the University.</p>

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<p>I’m a current first year here and would be happy to answer any questions you have no matter how vague or specific they are. I’ve a thread further down as well. Feel free to ask here, there or pm me :slight_smile: I also have plenty of photos to share.</p>

15

<p>Peter1412- Is there any way I could email you instead? It seems I can’t PM because I do’t have enough posts?</p>

16

<p>I just sent you a pm with my email. Didn’t want to post it on an open forum :)</p>